Government Split on Decriminalisation of Drugs Leaves Hastings in Two Minds

The Home Office has said a shift in drugs policy is not an option, yet MPs are pushing for a published review within the next year.

Substance is a shop in Hastings which offers “everything from fancy dress and costumes to smoking accessories and adult novelties”. A shop worker there believes that the legalisation of drugs will lessen the appeal of them to young people. The interview can be heard below.

However, the owner of Smokemart Newsagents in Hastings’ Priory Square disagreed. Instead, he says the legalisation of drugs will allow them to be “more accessible and therefore become a normal part of everyday life”.

A representative of UK Skunkworks, a chain across England with a shop near the town centre, declined to comment.

Government policy on drugs will be debated by MPs in the House of Commons later today.